A working cylinder operating without a piston rod of the type described is known from German Utility Model DE 76 08 315. In that case, a rope serves as a pulling means, or flexible tensile force transmitting means. The rope is guided from the inside of the cylinder to the outside of the cylinder in a sealed manner, from the ends of the cylindrical tube. The seals are arranged in the region of the cylinder covers or endcaps. The free ends of the rope are guided parallel to the cylindrical tube via guide rollers, present in the region of the cylinder covers, and the ends of the rope are connected to a further force transmission element which is formed as an attachment yoke. The connection between the ends of the rope and the attachment yoke is made in DE 76 08 315 by providing the free ends of the rope with head sleeves, which are introduced into threaded bushings. Clamping nuts are used for effecting the tensioning of the entire rope. Additional securing bushings strengthen and secure this attachment.
The arrangement of DE 76 08 315 has the disadvantage that a large amount of time is required for the mounting of such a working cylinder. In the operation of this known working cylinder, the attachment yoke is either formed integrally as a force transmission element or can be connected with such an element. The force of the movement of a piston in the cylinder, which is conducted outwards via the rope, is then tapped off via the provided force transmission element. This furthermore has the disadvantage that threaded elements within the region of attachment between the rope and the force transmission element or attachment element can loosen, and must then be checked from time to time and readjusted. Furthermore, the tensioning of the pulling means is adjustable only within a small range.